


Courage Need Not Be Remembered

by AutisticKogayne (orphan_account)



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Multi, breath of the wild AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-30
Updated: 2019-03-30
Packaged: 2019-11-26 13:32:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18181259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/AutisticKogayne
Summary: A Miraculous Ladybug/Breath of the Wild AU with Bridgette as Princess Zelda, Felix as Link, Marinette as Mipha, Nino as Daruk, Adrien as Revali, and Alya as Urbosa. Prior knowledge of BOTWnotneeded, but will make a little more sense!





	Courage Need Not Be Remembered

**Author's Note:**

> While there is a tag for major character death, it's not graphic, just to let you know!

“Do you think they had any luck?” Nino asked, looking as the Princess and her knight walked towards them from where they had gone up the mountain to the Spring of Wisdom.

“With _that_ look on her face?” Adrien asked, uncrossing his arms and gesturing towards her with a raised eyebrow. “No way.”

“We don’t know that!” Marinette spoke, hands held in front of her as they all stepped forward to meet the two.

“I hate to agree with Adrien, but she _definitely_ doesn’t look like someone who’s just awoken the spiritual power they’ve been trying to awaken for several years,” Alya spoke.

When the Princess was close enough, they all stepped forward to greet her, Nino walking until he stood right by her side.

“Well? Don’t keep us in suspense,” he said, trying to catch a glimpse at her face as she kept walking forward. “How’d everything go up there on the mountain?”

Finally stopping, Bridgette’s face lowered as she shook her head sadly. Each of the champions looked at each other, nervous as they realized that none of them knew where they were meant to go from here.

“So, you didn’t feel anything?” Adrien asked, the first to look away from the others and towards the princess. “No power at all?”

“I’m sorry, no,” she responded, hands gripping each other in front of her stomach as she looked away from them all.

“Then let’s move on,” Alya said, resting one of her hands on her hip. “You’ve done all you could. Feeling sorry for yourself won’t be of any help. After all, it’s not like your last shot was up there on Mount Lanayru. Anything could finally spark the power to seal Ganon away. We just have to keep looking for that… thing.”

“That’s kind of you. Thank you.”

Stepping forward, Marinette swallowed against her nervousness before speaking, trying to make eye contact with the princess from where her head was lowered.

“If I may…” she started, glad when Bridgette actually looked up at her, “I thought you… Well, I’m not sure how to put this into words… I’m actually kind of embarrassed to say it, but I was thinking about what I do when I’m healing. You know, what usually goes through my mind… It helps when I think--when I think about--”

Cut off by the ground shaking beneath them, Marinette struggled to stay on her feet as the others stumbled alongside her. Turning away from the mountain, Adrien launched himself into the air, the air leaving his lungs as he watched the clouds of malice swirl around the castle, Calamity Ganon joining them with a roar as the malice continued to spread.

“It’s here,” Alya spoke, stepping forward with a glare.

“This is it, then,” Nino growled, hands clenched as he glared into the distance where Ganon waited.

“Are you sure?” Marinette asked, hoping against hope that they were wrong and she wouldn’t have to watch as they all charged into battle, wholly unprepared for Ganon’s power.

“Positive.” Adrien responded, not looking away from the storm that grew over Hyrule Castle.

“It’s awake,” Bridgette whimpered, face terrified as she watched the storm of malice spread past the castle’s reach. “Ganon.”

“Let’s stop wasting time,” Nino spoke, turning to the princess with determination written across his face. “We’re gonna need everything we’ve got to take that thing down! Now Champions, to your Divine Beasts! Felix will need to meet Ganon head on when we attack. This needs to be a unified assault! Felix, you get to Hyrule Castle. You can count on us for support.”

Each of the Champions nodded at each other before heading off toward their Divine Beast each of them keeping their fears unspoken and their worries held close to their hearts and none of them even stopping to think of grabbing weapons before heading off.

~

It’s almost funny, Adrien thinks, how it’s always the part you _don’t_ plan for that gets you. He’d been more than ready to fight Ganon alongside Vah Medoh and the other Champions. He had _not_ been ready for Ganon to infect the Beast, forcing him to fight the terrifyingly fast Windblight Ganon in the confined space, and without his best weapons.

He can feel the other champions through his bond with Medoh, and while it feels muted now, he can feel enough to know that they’re panicking and wondering what’s happening to him. He has barely a moment to be grateful that they’re not being forced to fight one of Ganon’s phantoms before the beast is attacking him again, forcing him to jump backwards in an attempt to dodge.

He knows though that he’s only going to be able to dodge for so long, and in a part of him he wants to deny, he also knows he doesn’t have a chance defeating the beast without his weapons. With as much of his concentration as he can spare, he reaches into his bond with the other champions, strengthening it with his energy enough that he’s now able to make out words and solid feelings from the others.

He tries to warn them, let them know that when Medoh inevitably turns on them, it’s because he’s fallen and not because he’s betrayed them, but it seems Windblight Ganon has caught onto the fact that his attention is divided. It only takes one shot.

He’s on the ground before he even realizes, the screams of the other champions echoing in his head as he realizes that he’s dying. He’s still tuned into their bond, and with the need to pay attention to Windblight Ganon gone, Adrien pushes himself fully into it. His energy is fading fast, but he pushes himself as hard as he can, using the bond to warn the others of his defeat at the hands of one of Ganon’s monsters, apologizing even as the other’s beg him to hold on.

He pulls away from the bond at the last minute, not wanting the others to feel his death, even if they already know it’s coming. He tries to stay calm, knowing that there isn’t any point to freaking out at this point, but as the silence settles around him, all he can think of are the other Champions. As the black spots begin to take over his vision and a hole of regret swirls in his chest, he comes to the realization that with his death here at the hands of Ganon, he won’t be able to see the other Champions after Ganon’s defeat. 

He’ll never get to just be around them, all of them bonding over the unique experience of piloting a Divine Beast in the fight against Ganon. With his death here, he’ll never get to tell the other Champion’s how much they inspired him, how they always made this enormous task seem so much easier to bear, and as his eyes close for the last time, he thought of how he’d now never get the chance to tell them how he really felt about them.

~

Nino had felt when Adrien died, even if the other Champion tried to pull away from the bond, it was impossible to pull away fully. He could feel Alya and Marinette screaming into the bond for Adrien to respond, but they all knew he wouldn’t. Their connection with Adrien was silent, and the connection to Vah Medoh was muted and dark.

Nino opens his mouth to tell the others to fire upon the castle immediately when the cloud of malice rises from Vah Rudania’s main terminal. He freezes, watching in horror as electric blue beams of energy swirl in the air in front of him, coming together to form what can only be one of Ganon’s shadows.

Once it’s fully taken form, it roars, a glowing axe in one hand and a fireball in the other. Swallowing, he comes to the realization that this must have been what killed Adrien. Perhaps not the exact same monster, but almost certainly a shadow of Ganon’s sent to corrupt Vah Medoh.

When he reaches over his shoulder to grab his weapon, he remembers how quickly all of the champions had run for their Divine Beasts, leaving no time for them to grab any weapons. He’s stuck inside Rudania with this Fireblight Ganon, and no weapons to try to fight it with.

It’s a cold realization, knowing that as Adrien died, so will he. He can try to hold this monster off for as long as possible, but he knows it won’t be enough. Once he’s killed, Ganon will easily be able to take Rudania over and use her against the other Champions. His protection ability will only be able to do so much to help him, and while it’s better than nothing, he still curses at himself for not stopping earlier for a better weapon.

While he’s still immersed in the bond, having reached further into it when he felt Adrien’s distress, he reaches out to Alya and Marinette. He feels the moment they realize what’s happening, and before they can say anything, he’s warning them as much as he can.

He warns them of Ganon’s shadows attacking them, rising from the main console of their Divine Beast in a cloud of malice and hatred before corrupting the beast. He tells them to fire upon the castle immediately, ignoring their previous orders to wait for the signal from Felix and Bridgette, and before he pulls back from the bond as much as he can, he tells them to stay strong.

~

Alya can feel the hole in her chest widening, the spot that was previously taken up by Adrien and Nino now filled with silence and pain. She can still feel Marinette, and knowing that there’s another Champion still with her is enough to push Alya forward. She yells through the bond, telling Marinette to fire upon the castle as she runs to her own console. 

By the time she makes it there, the malice has already taken over and Thunderblight Ganon is waiting for her.

Her fear echoes through the bond, and she can feel Marinette screaming out to her as the other Champion realizes what’s happening. She knows she won’t be able to defeat the monster with her weapons and shield back at home, leaving her defenseless against it.

Even as she resigns herself to her fate, she pushes away from the bond as much as she can, not wanting Marinette to feel the deaths of all three of her companions. She wants to apologize, but the monster is too fast for her to take a second to send any thoughts or messages, kept on the defensive the whole time as she avoids it’s khopesh and lightning attacks.

She lasts longer than the other two, but eventually she stumbles and is defeated. Marinette is still screaming in her head and Alya can only think on how much she hopes Marinette stays safe as Vah Naboris is corrupted around her. She finds the thought almost selfish, but as the last of her energy leaves her, her last hope is that she’ll at least be able to see Adrien and Nino on the other side.

~

Marinette falls faster than any of the other Champions. The hole where her bond with the other champions should be silent and raw, and the malice quickly taking over Vah Ruta’s console. Waterblight Ganon forms quickly, and while she might’ve been able to fight him off another time, she’s stuck with the emptiness in her chest and her weapons gone.

She tries, the anger and despair at the deaths of the other Champions pushing her, but the monster is quick and holds a spear more than triple the length of her body. He takes her down not soon after appearing, and Marinette can’t stop a few tears from escaping as she tries to reach into her bond with the others and finds only emptiness. She cries for the future of Hyrule, all four Divine Beasts corrupted and controlled by Ganon, she cries for the hole in her heart that the other Champions have left her with, and before she takes her last breath, she cries with the hope that they’ll at least get to be together in the after life.

~

When Marinette opens her eyes, it’s to the sight of Felix standing beside the now uncorrupted console of her Divine Beast, chest clad in the armor she had made for him one hundred years earlier before she discovered how she felt for the other Champions.

“Hello, Felix.” She says, watching as he turns to look at where her spirit stands on the water surrounding them, “Because of your courage, my spirit is now free. And Ruta as well. Thank you.”

She walks toward him, ignoring how she can’t feel the water beneath her feet, hands held close to her chest. Since she’s a spirit now and has no need for it, she summons forth her healing power, Marinette’s Grace, and gifts it to him. As the light forms around him, ready to take him back to the Domain, she speaks up.

“I must go. Ruta and I have our roles to fulfill. We are both honored to be able to support you in this battle against Ganon. Now you must leave. You must free the other Champions, and save the Princess.”

Once he’s left, she moves Vah Ruta from her place in the East Reservoir Lake to over the cliffside, placed perfectly to fire upon the Castle when the time is right. From where she stands, she can clearly see over the whole of the Domain, and her heart clenches in her chest as she wonders how her family dealt with her death one hundred years ago. She wishes she could see them again, even just once more, but her spirit is bound to Vah Ruta until Ganon’s defeat.

She also thinks of the other Champions, and how her bond with them all is as silent as it was one hundred years ago before she was slain by Waterblight Ganon. She can only hope that with Felix having freed her and Ruta, he’ll do the same for the other Champions and their Divine Beasts, and she’ll be able to feel them again. For now, her focus is steady toward Hyrule Castle, waiting for either a sign that one of the other Beasts has been awaken, or that Ganon has been released.

~

When Nino comes back to himself, the first thing he notices is Felix standing beside the uncorrupted terminal for Rudania. Felix seems to notice the movement out of the corner of his eyes and automatically turns to face him. Nino apologizes, as silly as it sounds, but he can’t fully erase the guilt of having failed one hundred years earlier. He also summons forth his protection ability, Nino’s protection, and gifts it to Felix, having no need for it now that he’s a spirit.

The light quickly forms around Felix, and with a final goodbye, he’s left Rudania. Once the last of the light has faded, Nino quickly steps to the main console and moves Vah Rudania, moving her from her place inside Death Mountain to sitting on the edge facing Hyrule Castle. From here, it’s incredibly easy to gaze down upon Goron city, and he can only hope that they’re all still going strong after all these years.

Turning to gaze over at the castle, he notices Vah Ruta is also in position to fire, and reaching into his bond with the Champions, he can faintly feel Marinette. Adrien and Alya’s parts of the bond are still silent and cold, but he pulls relief out of the fact that at least he wasn’t the only Champion Felix saved. His bond with Marinette is still faint, mostly due to the fact that it’s been so long, but he pushes as much of his joy and hope as he can through to her.

One hundred years earlier, he had gotten into Vah Rudania with the thought that he’d help defeat Ganon and then celebrate with the other Champions, maybe even confessing the warmth that grew in his chest every time he saw them. It’s too late for that now, and while it’s an upsetting thought, he takes joy in the fact that he gets another chance to help defeat Ganon and feel the other Champions again.

~

Adrien compares it to waking from an odd dream, hazy and a little confusing. The last thing he remembered was falling at the hands of Windblight Ganon, and now he’s watching as Felix steps away from the uncorrupted terminal for Vah Medoh.

He’s happy of course, both to be back in control of the Divine Beast and to see Felix alive and well. The fact that Felix was able to defeat Windblight Ganon and free Medoh back to Adrien shows how hard he must be fighting, and Adrien is quick to tell him how happy he is to see him and how proud of him he is.

He’s also quick to summon forth his power, Adrien’s Gale, and gift it to Felix. It’s useless to him as he is now, but he hopes the knight will find some use for it. Within moments of accepting the ability, the light begins to form around Felix, sending him back to Rito village. Alone on Vah Medoh once more, Adrien is quick to move her into position above the town, aimed right at Hyrule Castle for when he’s needed. From his position on Medoh’s shoulder, he’s able to gaze towards Hyrule Castle and see that Vah Ruta and Vah Rudania are also in position to fire.

Reaching into the bond, he can feel both Marinette and Nino, and while Alya’s absence is a stone in his chest, he’s glad that the others are free, and Alya is surely soon to follow. The connection is still a bit fuzzy, but after one hundred years and all of their deaths, he’s glad to be able to feel them at all. He pushes as much of his happiness and determination through the bond as he can, hoping the others will be able to feel it and know that he’s been freed as well.

It’s an odd pill to swallow, knowing that he’s been dead for the last one hundred years, especially when he had never even entertained the thought of them falling at Ganon’s hands. He had planned on defeating Ganon and then confessing to the other Champions once the battle was over, and while now that hope is gone, he takes happiness in the fact that they’ll all defeat Ganon together soon. Once Ganon is defeated, Hyrule will no longer need the Divine Beasts, and the four of them will be able to rest in peace, together.

~

Alya opens her eyes, and for a moment, she forgets when she ever even closed them. It comes back quickly, her defeat at the hands of Thunderblight Ganon, but a quick glance around reveals only Felix standing next to the main terminal, which is now free from malice. She’s amazed that Felix was able to free Vah Naboris, especially considering he would have needed to defeat Thunderblight Ganon first, but she can’t say she’s especially surprised. It’s pleasant to see him again, even if the circumstances aren’t exactly what they had been hoping for one hundred years prior.

She’s quick to congratulate him and before she forgets, she gifts him her special ability, Alya’s fury. It’s an incredibly useful ability, and while she’s a spirit and has no need for it anymore, he still has more fighting to do before the war is won. The light grows around him before he’s disappeared, and Alya doesn’t waste a second before moving Naboris. She manages to situate the beast on a plateau on the edge of the desert, a perfect spot to aim upon Hyrule Castle in front of her, and gaze upon Gerudo town behind her. She can see from here the outline of her town on the horizon, and she can also see the other three Divine Beasts in position and aimed at the castle.

She’s quick to push into the bond, and nearly cries when she can feel the other three. It’s fuzzier than before, but she attributes it to their century long slumber and pushes as much determination and anger toward Ganon through the bond as she can. She can only hope that they know now that she’s freed as well, and even if they can’t be together now, they’ll be together in the afterlife once Ganon has been defeated. 

~

When the bright lights shoot out of the castle in sporadic bursts, Adrien is quick to realize that the time has come. Ganon is free from his seal, and Felix is in the castle preparing to fight him. The Champions are each bound to their Beasts, leaving them unable to go to the castle and help, but they do what they can.

Their moment has arrived, and without a second's hesitation, they each push their Divine Beast to fire, watching as the blasts shoot bright and fast right to Hyrule Castle. They have no way of knowing how the blasts affect Ganon, but they’ve done their part.

Now, each of them sinks into the bond with the other Champions as much as they can, forced to wait for the end of the final battle, hopeful that the war against Calamity Ganon ends today.

~

Once the Divine Beasts have fired and Ganon has been defeated, each of their spirits is pulled to Hyrule Castle. They, along with the King, watch as Bridgette and Felix look upon the Castle once more before walking away. There’s so much damage leftover from Ganon and the Great Calamity to be fixed, but the day has been long enough without worrying about the future.

The king, content with seeing Bridgette and Felix safe moves on, his spirit disappearing in a flicker of green light. The Champions stay where they are, staring down at Hyrule as each of them tries to think of what they want to say. Marinette is the first to break the silence, turning to face the other three.

“We defeated Ganon.”

“Yeah, even if it was one hundred years later than we originally planned.” Alya smirks.

“I’m glad it’s all finally over,” Adrien spoke. “And I’m glad that I was able to play a part in his defeat alongside you three.”

“I know it’s not how any of us really planned,” Nino spoke, turning away from where he was watching Hyrule to look at the other Champions. “But I’m glad we’re all together again.”

“Me too. I missed you all. Even when Felix saved us all, the connection was so faint it was hard to feel any of you.” Marinette smiles, laying a hand on Nino’s shoulder.

“I’m glad too that our duty to Hyrule is done now, and we’ll be able to rest in peace. Together.” Alya smiled, wrapping an arm around Adrien’s shoulder.

“I have to confess though,” Adrien spoke. “I had planned on asking you three if you wanted to spend some time together once we defeated Ganon one hundred years ago. It’s later, and certainly different circumstances than I’d originally planned, but I’d still like to extend the invitation.”

“Oooh, like a date?” Alya smirked, watching as Adrien’s face flushed as much as a spirit’s face could. “Because that sounds wonderful.”

Marinette and Nino were quick to agree, and with shy smiles, each of them reached out, all of them holding hands before they too moved on.

~

When the blood moon rose two days after Calamity Ganon’s defeat, the whole of Hyrule held their breath, waiting to see if the monsters that had plagued them would rise again. Luckily, the night passed without any signs that anything had changed beside the color of the moon and Hyrule was able to breathe easy.

Inside the Divine Beasts, each of the Champions blinked awake, confusion settling over them as they looked around themselves at the now inactive machines. Within moments, each of them was standing from where they sat against the main console and rushing to look outside, taking in the sight of a calamity free Hyrule.

Within the next few hours, each of the Champions made their way home, and even though it was the middle of the night, news of their revivals and the ensuing celebrations spread quickly. By sunrise, the news had reached Bridgette and Felix at Hyrule Castle, and by noon, the news had reached the other Champions.

It took nearly three days for the festivities to die down enough for each of the Champions to escape but as soon as they had the chance, each of them packed a small bag and headed out. The bond with the other Champions was near non existent now that they were alive and the Divine Beasts were no longer active, but they all got the sense of wanting to meet again. It took another three days for them to meet with none of them having a horse or other mode of transportation, but they all finally met at the Sacred Ground Ruins where Felix had been officially knighted a century earlier. Marinette arrived first, having taken Zora river all the way to Hyrule Castle’s moat and simply walking the remaining distance, while Adrien arrived ten minutes later, having flown straight there. Nino was next, a half hour later than Adrien, with Alya a scant two minutes behind him.

It was awkward at first, all of them standing in a circle and looking at each other, but Marinette was again the first to break the silence.

“Do you remember everything that happened?” She asked, looking at all of them before looking fully at Adrien.

Each of them nodded before Alya smirked and crossed her arms.

“So, does that mean we’re all still on for that date Adrien?”

This time when Adrien’s face flushed, it was a much brighter red and each of them laughed as he sputtered and waved his arms around.

“I mean,” he started, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. “We could be. I feel like this whole thing has been a whirlwind of surprises, from becoming Champions to dying to coming back to life, but I’m really glad that we’ll actually get to spend time together.”

“Me too,” Marinette spoke up. “Especially now that I don’t have as many responsibilities back at the Domain. After my passing, Tikki took on the role of heir and it’d be wrong of me to take it from her after so long.”

“I doubt any of our people ever expected us back, so I think they’ll be okay without having us around 24/7.” Alya grinned. “I’d like to spend some time at home, with the current chief being only twelve and most likely needing some guidance, but overall I don’t believe I’m needed enough to stay there all the time.”

“So, if we’re not exactly needed,” Marinette smiled, reaching out to grab Alya and Nino’s hands. “I suppose we have time for that date now?”

“I think we have time for _many_ dates.” Adrien replied, grinning as he grabbed Alya and Nino’s spare hands. “How about a picnic atop the dueling peaks? It’ll be a nice walk, and I can fly over and get food from Kakariko village for us.”

“I _have_ heard the view from up there is wonderful.” Marinette smiled. “It sounds perfect. Should we head out now?”

“The sooner we leave, the sooner we get there.” Nino grinned. “And I don’t know about you three, but the sooner we leave, the sooner our future together starts.”

With several loud whoops of joy and agreement, the four of them set off, for their first date _and_ their future together.

_Courage need not be remembered, for it is never forgotten._


End file.
